Thanks very much to the reviewers
I've kind of figured out the plot line for this now, so hurrah for that
And thanks to the following:
selbidercnI, Jack-Jack Incredible, Dash, soccergurl1990, El Jugador, FutureFanatic and goldfish078 (who reviewed the other chapter but I forgot to thank – sorry about that)
Midnight Lady, yes I was hoping not to get any awkward questions on this
If it's alright with y'all, I'd like to take it that the last bit in the film
(The part with Dash coming second in the race)
Does happen, but the very last bit with The Underminer doesn't
So yes, they don't know about Jack-Jack's powers
But they will eventually...
Anyway, that's later on – so, for now:
Enjoy! Love LJ xXx
Throw Me. Chapter Three. Su Casa.
Jack-Jack gurgles loudly and bangs relentlessly on the bars of his playpen with a plastic screwdriver.
"He's very cute," Mirage comments in the tense living room. It is only her, Dash, Violet and the noisy Jack-Jack sitting in there, pretending they can't hear the heated conversation going on between Bob and Helen Parr in the kitchen. "What's his name?"
"Jack-Jack," Violet answers quietly. "I'm Violet, and this is Dash." Dash smiles with a polite shyness that shocks Violet. Dash? Shy? Has the world gone mad?
"Nice to properly meet you," Mirage nods courteously. "My name is –"
"Mirage," Dash cuts in for her. "We know who you are."
"Yes." Mirage does not know what else to say and begins to feel like coming here was the worst idea she'd ever come up with. Jack-Jack laughs delightedly and chews on the rubber head of his father, in miniature superhero-figurine form.
"Alright? Alright?! How is this alright?" Helen's voice is, in fact, clearly audible from the kitchen though Vi, Dash and Mirage are pretending the walls of the suburban house are soundproof.
"Come on, honey – she needs our help. She helped us."
"Uh – yeah, Bob – right before she tried to kill us!"
"Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? Surely we can spare her a few nights on our sofa." Bob tries to reason with her.
"Jesus, Bob, we barely know her! How do you know she's just so suddenly fighting for the right side?" Helen squares up to him and fixes him with a glare.
"Because she helped us! And whatever happened to love thy neighbour and let thy neighbour - sleep - on...thy couch?" His voice trails off under his wife's cynically arched eyebrows. Despite being over twice her size, Bob Parr crumples under Helen's glower and is grateful when the phone begins to ring.
"Hey, Helen," the warm voice of their oldest family friend, Lucius Best comes down the receiver when she picks it up. "I was wondering if you and Bob could take some time to get down to the city – a bus packed full of elderly tourists is hanging over a bridge. Police are having a tough time keeping it steady and getting people out; we could really use you down here."
"Well, Lucius..."
"It's Lucius? What's going on? Where is it?" Bob's eyes light up eagerly. Helen looks at him; all hopes of carrying on the conversation now are gone.
"Okay, we'll get there in five," Helen answers before replacing the phone.
If she was honest with herself, she desperately needed to get out and get back to doing what she was best at. Bob only grins broadly, his eyes sparkling and looking remarkably like Dash. As the pair of them grab their suits and head for the door they had almost forgotten:
"Where do you think you're going?" Violet stands in the doorway with Dash by her side, both dubious and both waiting for an answer.
"Well..." Helen glances awkwardly at Bob who rubs the back of neck and attempts a weak smile.
"For a walk?" he offers, lamely.
"Dressed like that?" Dash pipes up, jerking his head at the couple dressed in their super suits, masks in hand. "I don't think so."
"Honey..." Helen begins.
"...Mirage is in charge for tonight. Be good." Bob finishes, grabbing his wife's wrist and running for it.
"Hey!" Violet yells down the street. "You're gonna be in big trouble when you get home!"
-
"Mirage?" Helen asks, breathlessly as they speed through the suburbs, fast approaching the city centre. "After all that?"
"It's better than them coming with us, isn't it? It's the perfect solution." Bob replies with a small shrug.
"I don't know...I don't feel comfortable with leaving the kids with a woman we don't know."
"I think our kids are more than a match for one person, honey. And anyway, we'll just finish up here and get back home in time. What could happen?"
They skid to a halt on their heels and stand together on the river bank. Just ahead of them, a packed coach teeters precariously on the edge of the bridge and helicopters shudder in the sky, sending down jerky searchlights that only add to the chaos. Cars screech their brakes at the police-enforced blockades at the bridge entrance and spectators have already gathered, shouting, screaming and waiting to see what comes next.
"Textbook example," Bob turns to his wife with a grin.
"No problem," she answers softly and smiles at him.
-
What could happen? Well, with the Parrs, truly anything could happen but certainly neither Bob nor Helen expected to return home to this.
They open the front door onto silence and step inside, suspicion already setting in.
"Erm – Mirage?" Bob calls into the still house.
"You're back? Was it good?" Mirage comes through the kitchen door and is whispering. "Your son is sleeping, Mr Incredible, so maybe we don't talk so loudly."
"Dash is in bed?" Helen repeats incredulously. "It's only nine."
"Oh no," Mirage laughs slightly. "Your other son, the baby, Jack-Jack..."
"Hah, yeah, cos normally you have to wrestle Dash to get him into bed before eleven," Bob jokes, glancing at Helen who smiles and rolls her eyes. "He's quite a handful."
"...Dashiel is doing his homework in the kitchen." Mirage continues.
"Huh?" Both Bob and Helen's jaws drop when they see Dash working away at his Math homework at the kitchen table.
"But...how?" Bob asks, dazed.
"He wanted to know about all the inventions Syndrome came up with, so I made a deal with him," Mirage shrugged her shoulders and Dash grins at his parents.
"I'm a fair guy; you give a little, you get a little," he says, leaning back in his chair.
"Violet's in bed, also," Mirage adds.
"So, let me get this straight," Helen begins, eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You got Jack-Jack to go to sleep, Vi's gone to bed on time and Dash is doing his homework?"
Mirage shrugs again and smiles, "They're good kids. Anyway, it's getting late; do you have the number of a motel nearby?"
"Motel? No way, you're staying here." Helen asserts, firmly and both Mirage and Bob stare at her rapid change of mind. "It's the perfect solution. How long can you stay for?"